


High Tides

by Purplesauris



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Black Moray Eel mer!Geoff, Bull Shark Mer!Ryan, But all will get some attention eventually, FAHC mermaids, Multi, Parrot Fish Mer!Gavin, Purple Sea Horse mer!Meg, Red Pacific Octopus mer!Jack, Russian!Ryan, Some of the ships are platonic!, Tiger Shark mer!Michael, kind of, language barriers, trans!Jack, trans!Ray
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 03:27:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7342783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purplesauris/pseuds/Purplesauris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray didn't go to the beach often. He preferred his bathtub, and he didn't even like swimming in the first place. When he did go, he finds something, or rather, someone, who might just make him love swimming as much as he loves the mysterious creatures who own the beach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	High Tides

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaand here is the first chapter of the mer au I promised!!!! As always, love the fic? Found a grammatical error? Tell me so at purplesauris.tumblr.com or right below in the comments! All of the characters and this AU belongs to the lovely Kalli over at a-simple-note.tumblr.com! Go check them out, their illustrations are awesome!

Ray didn’t know how to swim. He was used to the fact, and in busy New York where the only pools were the ones that were down the street filled with all the people who couldn’t afford their own, he never deemed it necessary to learn. Ray’s mother didn’t know either, so there was no way for him to learn. Ray didn’t care. He much preferred soaking in his bathtub at home where there was no chlorine to dry out his skin and no one staring at him. He was free to relax in warm water that no one had peed in, and he didn’t have to worry about needing to know how to tread water.

 

Not knowing, though, lead to many things. Beach parties just weren’t as fun when you wore a heavy sweater with absolutely no intention of getting into the water. He didn’t need to swim. He lived on land, right?

 

Ray wanders from his friends, sand sliding over his toes and warming his skin as his flip flops sink in and the ground shifts under his feet. Ray tugs on his backpack strap, making sure that it stops sliding from his shoulders, and just walks, looking out over the ocean and smiling wistfully.

 

“There’s nothing much to you, huh? Just a bunch of salt water and sand. Well, I don’t like sand.” Ray continues walking until he finds a secluded outcropping of rocks, Ray picking his way across until he can toe his flip flops off and sit with his feet in the water. With the sun warm on his back, Ray pulls his DS out of his pocket. He’s wary of the water below, but his place is secure on his rock, and he knows that no one is likely to come up behind him and push him in. He relaxes, slowly, and stares at the little screen on his device to pass the time. _No one will miss me at the party anyways._ Ray plays his DS in silence, listening to the ocean shhhhishing over the sand and splashing against the other rocks nearby. It’s peaceful, to say the least, and he finds himself lulling into a trance, DS set off to the side as Ray wraps his arms around his middle and looks out over the water. The white caps of the waves are beautiful in their own right, and Ray finds himself actually intrigued by nature for once.

 

Ray moves his feet slowly and splashes at the water, smiling to himself. He knows he should be scared of the water, but he can’t bring himself to when the sun is high in the sky and a soft breeze blows over the water, bringing with it the smell of sea salt. The air seems so much cleaner out near the beach, and Ray closes his eyes. He leans his head back, soaking in all the sun he can, and he hears a small splash, Ray dismissing it as a fish a ways away. There are always fish in the ocean, right? Ray hears another splash, closer by this time, and he opens his eyes, looking to see crystalline green eyes staring back at him.

 

Ray’s lips part to scream and the noise sticks in his throat, Ray scabbling back as the person launches forward. Ray stares in wide eyed awe as a man lifts himself up onto the rocks, grinning in delight.

 

“Human!” The man crows, Ray openly gawking. Where the man’s legs should be is an awful, gaudy tail with fins on the man’s hips, shifting the same green as his eyes and accented with golds and pinks. Gold lines his lids delicately as he stares at Ray with hooded, excited eyes, and a golden chain hangs heavy around his neck. Where his neck meets his shoulders, gills are layered one on top of the other, moving gently when the wind blows. Ray’s eyes continue to travel up, and where ears should be are webbed appendages, and when Ray looks, the same green-yellow webbing is between the man’s fingers. Smalls golden hoops pierce through the bottom of his ear fins, and Ray swallows thickly.

 

“Wh-what is- you’ve got to be kidding me.” Ray breathes in disbelief, and the man is still smiling, beckoning Ray forward.

 

“You humans are so silly. What, do you think you’re the only ones here? You don’t own the ocean, y’know.” The man carries on his own conversation even as Ray slowly moves to crawls toward him. Ray reaches out a hand, his entire arm shaking minutely, and he touches the man’s cheek, ignoring what he’s saying. The talking stops as time slows, and Ray’s vision goes tunnel-like, Ray trying to catch his breath as he marvels at the smoothness of the man’s skin. Ray jumps when a hand gently touches his, the delicate webbing rubbing over one of his knuckles.

 

“You’re real.” Ray breathes, hands dropping to his sides as he stares.

 

The man, for once, seems to have nothing to say, fingers gently touching his own cheek where Ray’s fingers brushed moments ago. Ray looks at him closely, at the scales that run down the man’s neck to protect any major vulnerabilities, the scales that otherwise dot his skin. “Uh, hello?” The man has found his voice again, and he waves his hand in Ray’s face, breaking him out of his stupor.

 

Ray blinks, moving back a little. “Umm, so what’s your name?” It’s the first thing Ray can think to say, and he cringes at how lame he sounds.

 

The mermaid doesn’t seem to mind, and he actually laughs at Ray, grinning. “Gavin, what’s yours?”

 

“Ray.” They fall silent again, and Gavin seems at a loss. Ray sits there quietly and takes in the sight of a real live mermaid sitting up on the rocks staring at him, _talking_ to him. It’s not like he’s never seen anything unusual, but he’d always thought mermaids were a myth. To see one so clearly shocks him, and somehow he finds the courage to speak again. “So uh, what kind of fish are you?”

 

“Why, only the prettiest one, of course! I’m a parrot fish!” Gavin puffs his chest proudly, but he has to sink back into the water, skin drying out rather quickly. “What kind of human are _you_?” Ray doesn't know how to answer that, and he struggles to find the words, Gavin continuing anyways. “Well I suppose it doesn't matter, you aren't as pretty as I am anyways. Oh it's so nice to see you I suppose, instead of those nasty people always jumping around in the water.”

 

“Yeah…” Ray trails off, still in disbelief. “So uh, do you not like when people swim in the water?”

 

“Well not all blokes that come into the water are as polite as you are, and they don't have nice shinies.” Gabin reaches for Ray's glasses and he flinches back, Ray touching them.

 

“I need these to see. But I can bring you something tomorrow?” Gavin's pout turns into a smile, Gavin nodding eagerly.

 

“You better! Come right back here okay?” Gavin rests his chin on his arms and smiles, waving flirtily as he splashes back under the waves, Ray standing up and watching the waves before heading for the store to find things for Gavin.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Somehow, going to the beach works its way into Ray's daily routine, and even when he doesn't have trinkets to give, Gavin still sits in the shallows near the rocky outcropping and chatters away about his friends. Ray is more than happy just to listen, and as he trudges across the sand toward their usual meeting spot, he sees another man with Gavin. Ray is about to panic, but he notices the… Shark tail. Ray swallows hard, mentally preparing himself to run at the first chance, and he feigns boredom as he walks up. Gavin, as usual, beams at him and waves.

 

“I brought a friend for you to meet!” Gavin seems so pleased he thought to bring his friend, and Ray keeps his limbs out of the reach of the newcomer. The newcomer stares at Ray with open distrust, brown eyes narrowed and toothy snarl at the ready. Ray sits down and gingerly holds out his DS, Gavin snatching it up and beginning to play his farming game. “This is Michael!” Ray snorts at the way Gavin says Michael, and Michael seems to hold a similar reaction. “He's my boi, so you two had better get along. Michael, this is Ray. He's the human I was talking about!”

 

“He doesn't look like much.” Michael mutters, Ray snorting.

 

“Neither do you.” He fires back, Michael snapping his jaw and baring his teeth. Ray sticks his tongue out and crosses his arms, looking at Gavin, who's engrossed in Harvest Moon. “Gavin he's bullying me.” Ray whines, Gavin automatically bapping Michael on the nose.

 

“Be nice to the human! He doesn't go in the water.”

 

“But Gav-” Gavin gives Michael puppy dog eyes and Michael groans, rubbing his cheek. “ _Fine_. I'll be nice to your stupid human.” Gavin baps Michael again and he mutters something about biting Gavin's fingers off if he does it again. Gavin seems to think nothing of it.

 

While Gavin shows Michael how the DS works, Ray takes the time to get his sketchbook out and put Michael’s image on paper, starting with his tail and working up. He's some kind of shark, though Ray couldn't say which, and his gills are in the same spot as Gavin's, layered and moving gently when the wind picks up. There’s no webbing between his finger, but his tail must be more powerful than Gavins, and Ray begins drawing his face last. Michael seems to favor putting sea stars in his hair as clips to keep his curls out of his face, though that's probably Gavin's handiwork. His grin is toothy, and even when he isn't smiling or snarling, his teeth poke from under his upper lip. Freckles dot his skin, and Ray imagines Michael tail is as rough as a shark's normal skin. Michael’s ears are pointed, but not webbed like Gavin’s, and he thinks all of Gavin’s webbing must be because of the species he is.

 

Ray has barely finished coloring his sketch when Michael speaks up, questions Gavin about Ray. “Look at him, what is he even doing?”

 

Gavin barely looks up from his game before shrugging and going back to the screen. “Humans call it drawing. They make shapes and color them to look nice.”

 

“Why? Are their memories that bad?” Michael sounds confused more than condescending, and Ray peeks over his sketchbook.

 

“I guess so.” Gavin distractedly agrees.

 

“It's not really because of memory. It's nice to have pictures or drawing so that we can look at it when we miss someone.” Ray gets up and hesitantly comes closer, showing Michael the sketch he's drawn. Michael seems transfixed by seeing himself on paper, and he reaches out to touch.

 

“How come you didn't draw _me_?” Gavin is pouting when he sees that Ray drew Michael, and Ray laughs, making Gavin pout more. Ray flips a few pages and shows Gavin that he's drawn him a few times. In one Gavin is staring at Ray, eyes just above the water. In another he's lounging on the rocks, playing Ray's DS and happy as can be. In the third drawing Ray did, Gavin is sleeping peacefully, curled up in the little watery cave that Ray found him in once. “I want them, please can I have them?”

 

Gavin gives Ray puppy eyes and Ray nods automatically, Gavin clicking happily. “Wait!” Ray reaches out as Gavin makes to go out them in his cave, Ray taking the sketch book back. “I need to laminate the pages or else the water will ruin them. I can give you them tomorrow.”

 

Gavin nods as if that makes perfect sense, though he has no clue what Ray means when he says he's going to laminate them. “Yes, that's a good idea.” Gavin turns as he hears a series of clicks, and he pouts. “I'm sorry Ray, we’re being called back. Come back later?” Gavin looks to Ray, and Ray nods, standing up and tucking his DS away in his bag. His back is to Gavin and Michael when they slip into the water, and Ray is making sure he hasn’t left evidence of him being here when he hears another splash. Ray turns back, looking at the ocean, only to see the surface undisturbed. Ray shoulders his bag and walks off, turning his back once more.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Ray is stuck at work a week straight, too tired and worn down to do anything but go home and sleep afterwards. When he finally gets to go to the beach, it’s late at night, Ray careful to pick across the rocks with his hands in his pockets and a cool breeze blowing across his face. Ray stands at the end of the rocks, looking over the water and hoping that maybe they’ll come.

 

Ray closes his eyes, listening for splashes, and he hears the rush too late, Ray screaming as a wave crashes into him, sending him tumbling into the water below. Ray’s eyes open and he swallows a mouthful of water immediately, Ray struggling to find any sense of direction or something to grab onto. Salt stings his eyes and he claws his way to the surface, coughing and gagging, managing a small breath before he’s slipping back under the waves. Ray can see the moon through the waves, can see the sand disturbed by his frantic flailing even as his efforts grow weaker as water rushes down his throat and he gags. Ray’s vision blurs and begins to go black, Ray’s movement stopping. Ray feels something grab his arm, yanking him from his peaceful slumber, and Ray is thrust into cold, sharp air. Ray feels someone turn him over, pounding on his back until he’s vomiting up salt water, gagging and spitting as water leaks out of his nose as well as his mouth.

 

“Fuck, c’mon you idiot, _breathe._ ” Ray coughs up even more salt water and he feels like his stomach will never unclench, but finally he draws in his first full breath, Ray greedily gulping in lungfuls of air. Ray’s glasses were lost somewhere in the water and he squints, looking at his rescuer. Ray thinks that he’s gone to heaven, a handsome face with worried green eyes staring back at him. Ray is too weak to hold himself up and he slumps back onto the cool sand, pitch black hands gingerly touching his neck, feeling for a pulse and ear fins twitching with each breath Ray pulls in.

 

Ray swings in and out of consciousness, coughing up a little bit more water and just breathing to try and regain his strength. Ray finally finds the strength to sit up, to stand, after a few moments, and he pulls off his soaked sweater, shivering in the cold. He’s soaked to the bone and slowly losing heat, shivering as he watches eyes slip under the water. Ray goes home in a daze, stripping down and leaving his soaked clothes in his bathtub. Ray crawls into bed, body aching and throat raw, falling asleep and dreaming of dark hands touching him, smacking his back and dragging him to safety.

 

Ray wakes up thinking the whole experience was a dream, showering without noticing the clothes and then going to get a few things. This time when he goes to the beach he’s clad in purple swim trunks, pink swim floaties on his arms as he hesitantly steps into the shallows. Michael and Gavin are waiting for him, looking at him curiously.

 

“You’re coming in?” Gavin asks, noticing his lack of eyewear.

 

“If I’m allowed to.” Ray mumbles, Gavin smiling and nodding. Michael isn’t as pleased, but he too, welcomes Ray into the water. Ray is slow to wade in, and halfway in he takes a stumbling step back as images flash through his mind and the feeling of water rushing over his head engulfs him. Gavin stares at him in worry, and the pieces seem to click with Michael all too easily.

 

Michael crows with laughter, splashing around all the while Ray relives last night, a hand coming up to touch his throat. “He can’t swim! The dumbass is coming into the water when he can’t even stay afloat without those dumb things on his arms!”

 

Gavin punches Michael in the arm, shutting him up, and he moves to be near Ray, offering a hand. “I won’t let you drown, Ray.” Gavin is oddly serious for once, and Ray, holding Gavin’s hand, manages to go until he’s waist deep. Gavin instructs him softly, telling him what he needs to know about swimming. Gavin is at a loss for what Ray should do with his legs, and he jets off to look at other people from afar. Ray panics when his support is suddenly gone and he scrambles to pull himself up onto the rocks, Michael watching from further out. Gavin comes back and has Ray practice what he thinks is right, but Ray refuses to get back in the water.

 

“I came here last night to see you.” Ray says softly, Gavin gasping. Last night they’d all hidden away, the wind creating waves that should have kept Ray and anyone else high up on the beach. “I fell in and someone saved me.”

 

“Who?” Gavin asks curiously, looking at Michael. Michael shakes his head, and Gavin wonders who could have done it. Maybe another human.

 

“I don’t know. All I remember is burning in my lungs and then dark hands touching me, forcing me to breathe. I think he had green eyes? Like, the prettiest eyes I’ve seen in a long, long time.” Ray almost sounds enchanted, and Gavin doesn’t take offense, surprisingly, looking at Michael. A moment of understanding passes through the both of them, but Ray is too busy trying to remember to notice. “Maybe I dreamt him? I don’t remember.” Ray is mainly talking to himself, and he shakes off his stupor. “Anyways, I want to learn to swim.”

 

“Well, then you’d better get your stinky human butt in the water.” Gavin teases, getting Ray’s mind off of last night and focusing on teaching him what he needs to know.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It ends up taking weeks for Ray to even feel confident enough to swim on his own, and by then he’s taken to floating in deeper water, holding onto his inflatable tube and smiling while Michael yells at Gavin for taking his stuff again. Gavin clicks and grunts, and they dissolve into arguing, Ray laughing and turning in his tube. He’s still smiling when eyes break the surface, narrowed and blackish-red stuff smeared across his eyes and the bridge of his nose. It looks like some kind of odd warriors paint to Ray, intimidating and fierce. The color makes the blue strikingly bright, and Ray screams out of pure shock, seeing the shark tail that comes with the pair of blue eyes. Said eyes widen in alarm, and then sink underneath the surface, Gavin swimming and waving merrily.

 

“Ryan, you bloke! Come back!” Gavin seems to remember something because he goes back to clicking and grunting, the larger form slowly moving back toward their little group. The man’s head breaks the surface and Ray actually has time to look at him, Ray taking note of how he looks to draw later. His tail is bulkier than Michael’s, but he’s obviously a shark of some kind as well, the same pale blue of his tail lining the bottom of his gills. He looks very similar to Michael in body structure, but he’s bigger, and Ray hesitantly reaches out.

 

The man clicks in warning and Ray retracts his hand, smiling softly. “Another friend?” Ray’s voice is weak, awed by the powerful beast in front of him that’s obviously content just to watch Ray from a couple feet away, eyes peeking above the water as his black hair moves with the waves. Ray thinks that it’s been tied back, and upon closer inspection, he’s right.

 

“Yeah, this is Ryan! He doesn’t talk much in English, but he knows his name and he’ll respond if you call him.” Ryan is still staring at Ray, even during the introduction, and Ray rests on the pool tube and watches him, Ryan making a face and then diving underneath the water. He pops up a couple feet further away and Ray smiles softly, turning his back so that Ryan will come back. A thought comes to him, and he looks at Michael, looking at his markings, and then peeking at Ryan’s markings.

 

“Hey Michael, what kind of shark are you?”

 

Michael puffs his chest and flashes a toothy smile, looking very proud. “A tiger shark.”

 

Ray hums and peeks at Ryan again, and then looks back to Michael. “What is Ryan? He’s bigger than you.”

 

Michael’s expression goes sour, and Ray sees Gavin wince. Ray hears a couple of clicks, and a soft noise from behind him, who Ray assumes is Ryan talking. Gavin is the one to chime in first to translate. “Michael is uh, small for his species. He’s still a very capable hunter his family just… Didn’t like his size.”

 

Ray realizes that he’s probably deeply upset Michael, and he reaches out a hand, Michael begrudgingly taking it. “I didn’t mean to offend you. You both scare the shit out of me, no matter your size.” Ray chuckles awkwardly, and hears a soft, throaty laugh from Ryan. Michael’s face relaxes after a couple of minutes, and he clicks a couple of times, something Ray has come to learn means that he’s being accepted.

 

Ray relaxes in his tube for a little while longer before there’s a commotion and his tube is being tipped, Ray scrambling as he’s flipped out of it. Ray’s first thought is to panic, and he flails his way to the surface, gasping and wiping water out of his eyes to see Ryan holding the now empty tube close as he inspects it. He goes to bite it, but a sharp click from Gavin stops him, and Ryan grumbles, setting it back down and somehow lifting himself into it. He lounges on it with his tail half in the water, and soaks up some sun, Ray already tiring from treading water.

 

Gavin gives a series of scolding clicks and grunts, and Ryan peeks an eye open to look at Ray before becoming disinterested and closing his eyes again. Ray goes under, too tired to keep swimming, and it’s just like before, Ray staring up at the surface as salt stings his eyes. Ray tries this time, to get to the surface, and he feels something brush over his leg before hands are grabbing at him as he’s rushed to the surface.

 

Ray gasps in a huge breath of air, furiously paddling himself until he can touch, and he’s up and out of the water in a flurry, crawling back onto his rocky outcropping and sitting with his knees up to his chest. Ryan is staring at him with something akin to interest when the tube is flipped, a series of loud, angry clicks carrying through the air. Another mermaid has appeared, his hair jet black and his lower half the same color. His hands… are as dark as pitch at the fingers, lightening as it fades up his forearms. He seems to be outright appalled and pissed off because Ryan responds this time angrily, and he disappears under the surface of the water, shooting away.

 

The newest arrival moves over to Ray and gently lifts the tube out of the water, setting it near Ray on the rocks. Ray lays a hand on it, but doesn't make any move to get back in the water. “Are you alright?”

 

Ray stares at the mermaid in front of him, reaching out to touch his hands, making sure that he’s real. “It’s you.” Ray realizes, blinking and drawing in a breath. The man smiles, and he falls back as Ray launches himself at the mermaid. The mermaid instinctively catches him, drawing him back to where neither of them will go under, and he holds Ray as Ray squeezes him in a tight hug. “You saved my life. I thought it was a dream.”

 

“I know I’m hot, but I’m not _that_ hot.” The mermaid jokes, Ray in too much shock to laugh at what he said. “Glad to see you can at least attempt to tread water this time.”

 

“Gavin's had me in the water every time I came after I said I wanted to learn.” Ray says quietly, the man helping Ray back onto the rocks and then bringing his upper half onto the rocks to lounge with Ray. “What's your name?”

“Geoff. I kind of keep these idiots together, when they're not running off to watch the humans.” Geoff shoots Gavin a look and he smiles sheepishly, going off to play with Michael in deeper water.

“Well, thank you for saving my life, Geoff.” Ray really does mean it; without him he knows he wouldn't be here right now. “How come you've never been around before?” Ray is curious, within the span of an hour he's met two new mermaids, all of them different species.

“Oh, I sleep during the day usually. I heard a bunch of commotion and came to find Ryan attempting to drown you.” Geoff is none too amused by the thought, but Ray shakes his head.

 

“I don't think his aim was to drown me. He wanted to look at the tube, and I don't think he knew I needed it to stay afloat.” Geoff is looking at Ray with an odd expression now, and Ray fidgets. “What?” Ray asks, uncomfortable with the staring.

“Nothing, nothing. I've just never heard a human defend a mermaid’s actions.” Geoff is quiet, contemplative, and Ray shrugs, coughing awkwardly into his fist.

“Like I said, he was curious. I'll have to get another tube for him.” Ray smiles at Geoff and then goes back to staring out at the ocean, Ray’s smile slowly fading as he stares at the water. Ray warms in the sun, and Geoff stays by his side the entire time. Ray feels a heavy weight on his lap and he looks down quickly, only to find that Geoff has laid his human half over Ray’s legs and is using him as a pillow. Ray freezes, not knowing what to do, and he hesitantly places his hand on Geoff’s back. His skin is surprisingly cool to the touch, and he marvels over the way Geoff’s body seems to flow so easily into his lower half.

 

“I’m a moray eel. A black one, if you couldn’t tell.” Geoff seems more open to share things without Ray having to ask, and it’s a refreshing change of pace.

 

“I’m Puerto Rican.” Ray doesn’t know if that means anything to Geoff, but he wants to share as well, and he smiles when Geoff huffs a laugh.

 

“I’ve been near the coast of Puerto Rico, it’s a nice place. A little too warm for my taste.” Ray laughs again, and Geoff smiles, allowing Ray to gently touch his hair and trace the fin that runs along his spine.

 

Geoff looks at something off in the distance, and Ray think he sees a shape disappear under the surface. He wonders if maybe that was Ryan, but the outline of the fins are missing, and Ray doubts his judgement.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Geoff doesn’t visit often when Ray comes to hang out with the rest of them, though Ryan becomes a shadow in the water, always watching them from afar. Ray gets a second inflatable tube and he ties it to his own, letting Ryan lounge around in the sun on the other one while Ray chatters away with Gavin and Michael. Ryan doesn’t say much, and Ray has caught on that Ryan really doesn’t know much of the English language, and he later finds out that Geoff really isn’t the best of speakers either. He forgets words and will go for long stretches of silence before finally replying to Ray, and by then Ray’s forgotten what they were talking about.

 

Ray looks at Ryan idly, and smiles when he sees Ryan’s sleepy eyes looking back at him. “Hey Ryan.”

 

Ryan blinks slowly, and he bares his teeth in his own signature ‘smile’. It’s never less unnerving, but Ray has grown used to attempting to read Ryan by his body language. “Narv- Naaarvveh.” The word, or attempt, is thick in Ryan’s mouth, and Ray can’t help but laugh.

 

“It’s Narvaez. Not Narv.” Ray doesn’t mock Ryan, but he makes sure to say it slowly so that Ryan can listen close.

 

“Nnnaaarv.” Ray sighs when Ryan firmly says it wrong again, and he shakes his head. Ryan thinks for a moment, and Ray looks at him curiously. Ryan lets out a series of clicks, soft and vulnerable, and Michael laughs.

 

“That’s your name he’s saying. You’ve officially been given a name.”

 

Ray looks at Michael in surprise, then he looks back at Ryan, who’s gone back to sleep on his tube. “What does it mean? Just my name?”

 

“It,” Michael demonstrates the clicks, “means pet, or toy. You’ve been christened. You are now our pet.” Michael seems smug, and Ray’s cheeks flush.

 

“He’s no one’s pet.” A soft voice reprimands, Ray jumping in alarm and looking around. He sees a head of pretty red hair first, and then he sees her face. She’s beautiful, and just like with the others, Ray takes a minute just to stare at her. Her ears are thin and longer than Gavin’s, but they compliment her soft cheeks and sharp eyes. She’s an octopus, Ray can tell by the tentacles that hang onto Ray’s tube so keep her from floating away, and Ray snickers at the god awful top she wears. Somehow the hawaiian design compliments the reddish brown of her tentacles, and Ray reaches out a hand. The woman backs away, letting go of the tube, and Ray nods, drawing his hand back.

 

“I didn’t think there were so many of you so close by. My name is Ray, though I guess Ryan thinks I’m a pet now.”

“You aren't a pet. No one is anyone’s pet, do you understand me?” Her voice isn’t angry, but Ray can’t help but think that he’s struck a nerve.

 

“Yes ma’am. It’s just hard for Ryan to say my name, y’know?” Ray looks down at the water in shame, and he hears someone break the surface of the water. Ray looks up to see Geoff touching her arm, the woman sighing and relaxing.

 

“I know, I know. He’s their friend. Really, did you have to make me come up?”

 

“We’ve all met him, you were the only one still sulking around.” Geoff puts an arm around the woman’s shoulders, and she relaxes further. Geoff grins at Ray, but there are dark circles under his eyes, ones that make Ray think he hasn’t been sleeping well.

“I had no _reason_ to trust this person.” The woman defends, Geoff sighing softly.

“I know you don't like this, but he hasn't done anything to hurt us. He _asked_ the first time he wanted to try to swim. He understands these are our waters, and he understands our boundaries. Look at how close Ryan is to him. Does that prove anything?”

The woman looks at Ryan to see him fast asleep rather close to Ray, and she sighs again. “You're right. I don't trust you, but you're their friend. Just know that if you hurt them, it will _not_ end well.”

“I think the only one in danger of being hurt is me. The rest of you can _swim_.” Ray is serious, but he's also cracking a joke to break the tension. It works, because the woman drifts closer with a small smile on her face.

“You can call me Jack. Do you not swim, then?”

“It's more of frantic flailing.” Ray admits, smiling sheepishly as Jack laughs. She seems easy to warm up to him, once she sees proof of Ray not being a danger, but she doesn't let him touch her yet. He's not trying to pressure her. Geoff, on the other hand, is more than happy to pull himself up onto Ray's lap and immediately fall asleep in the warm sun, Ray making an exaggerated noise and complaining about how heavy Geoff is.

 

Geoff is already asleep though, so Ray resigns himself to floating out in the water for a few more hours while Geoff catches some z’s. Ryan peeks at Ray  with sleepy eyes occasionally, and Ray couldn’t say why, but he smiles and holds his fist out. Ryan turns in his tube so he’s stretched forward and rests his cheek against Ray’s fist, Ray laughing softly. Ryan looks at Ray, probably realizing that he didn’t do it right, and he clicks a couple times.

 

“I wanted a fist bump. You just close your hand in a fist and bump your hand to mine, like this.” Ray demonstrates by having Ryan close his fist, and then Ray bumps their fists together. Ryan looks like he’s seen both the greatest and stupidest thing in the world just now. Whether he understood the explanation or not is a mystery, but he nods and goes back to sleeping on his tube. Jack has drifted to talk quietly with Michael, and Ray watches the way they interact. She's obviously comfortable with everyone else, and he wonders if all of the mermaid population are this distrustful. He wouldn't blame any of them if they were.

 

Ray ends up floating most of the day with Geoff sleeping on him and Ryan asleep on his connecting tube. Jack watches the way that Ray talks with the others, laughing and splashing at them even though they aren't affected.

 

“I'm not kidding, we have big man made pools of water to swim in.”

 

“Then why do you guys come here?” Michael and Gavin are both bewildered, and Ray shrugs.

 

“I couldn't say. There's something about swimming in the ocean that's different than in a pool.” Ray looks out over the water wistfully, and Jack tilts her head. What a peculiar human.

 

“We'd like it better if humans swam in their pools and not the ocean.” Michael mumbles, Gavin swatting his arm for being rude to Ray. Ray doesn't seem offended, though, and he just nods. The conversation falls flat after that and Gavin squirms under the heavy silence. He looks at everyone, but Michael has drifted off in a huff and Jack seems more content to just watch Ray with wary eyes.

 

Ray finally nudges Geoff when the sun starts to go down and Geoff yawns, stretching and flopping back down. “Five more minutes.” Geoff says, closing his eyes again.

 

“Geoff it's getting dark and I have to go home.” Geoff grumbles heavily and finally slides off of Ray’s lap, slipping into the water with a splash. Ray sees Ryan doing the same and Ray paddles himself back to shore. He hides the tubes in the cave nearby where most of his water things are stored, and then heads home.

 

Ray lays awake in bed for a while before realizing that he’s got the next few days off of work, and he gets up again. Ray grabs his sweater and shoves his feet into his sneakers, heading back to the beach. Ray knows this time that being on the rocks at night isn’t the best and so he stays on the sand, sitting down where the waves can’t reach him. Ray finds that as soon as he’s near the water where he knows his friends are his eyelids grow heavy with sleep. Ray keeps himself bundled tight in his sweater, and with the cool breeze on his face, falls asleep curled up in the sand.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Ray wakes up slowly, yawning and stretching. He snuggles back into the sheets and- wait- sheets? Ray sits up with a start, looking around to see that he’s back in his bed at home. Ray doesn’t know how he got here he- he was sure that he was at the beach and it felt too real to be a dream. Ray looks around his room, sees that his pajamas are still on, his sweater on the chair where he left it last night after getting back from the beach.

 

“It was a dream?” Ray looks around, trying to find any hint, anything to prove that last night wasn’t a dream. Ray grabs his phone, looking, and he sees curious marks on his phone case, like teeth markings. When he inspects himself for markings like it he finds odd, circular bruises on his arms and hands, and Ray doesn’t know what could have possibly made them. Ray turns his phone on to see a call to his friend Jeremy that he hadn’t placed, and he grows suspicious.

 

Ray presses the call button and holds the phone to his ear, listening to the shrill ringing until Jeremy finally picks up. “Hey buddy, feeling better?”

 

“Uh, yeah, I think? What happened?”

 

Jeremy makes a confused noise on the other end, and Ray can hear the shuffle of his feet as he moves. He must be on speaker while Jeremy does something. “What, do you not remember? You went to some kind of party on the beach and passed out. Some lady friend of yours called me and told me to pick you up.”

 

“Oh, right.” Ray can only think of one person who would give him the marks on his arms and find him. “Well, thanks for bringing my ass home and putting me in bed.”

 

“No problem. Maybe next time you should have a buddy when you go to a party so they can drag  you home once you’ve had enough. Lightweight.” Jeremy is teasing him now and Ray rolls his eyes, knowing Jeremy can’t see him.

 

“Yeah yeah, next time I’ll call you before I fall asleep at the beach.” Jeremy laughs and says goodbye while Ray grumbles and hangs up, going to take a shower to wash all of the sand out of his hair. Ray dries himself off and stands in front of his mirror, looking at how much he’s tanned since he started swimming and going to the beach. He almost thinks that he looks like a different person, and he looks more relaxed, happy.

 

Ray makes the decision to go to the beach, like there’s really anything else he was planning on doing, when his phone starts ringing again. Ray picks up automatically, pinning his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he hurries to put his underwear on. “Hey Ray, whatcha doin’ today?”

 

“Hey Linds, I’m planning on heading to the beach today, what’s up?” Ray hears Lindsay start hopping around, and he makes a face at himself in the mirror.

 

“Can I come? I haven’t been to the beach in forever!”

 

“Oh uh, yeah sure. Are you gonna swing and get me first, then?”

 

“Duh, of course! I’ll see you in five!” Ray makes an affirmative noise and hangs up, going to finish getting his suit on. He puts on a t-shirt and his signature sweater on and grabs his small cooler. He loads up snacks and drinks for the day and slips his sandals on just in time for LIndsay to come in. “Sup BrownMan?” Lindsay pauses, looking Ray over, and blinks. “Holy fuck, you really are the brown man now.”

 

“Oh uh, I’ve been going to the beach a lot more lately. It’s peaceful.”

 

“Well then we better get going, huh?” Ray nods and they head out, Ray taking Lindsay to his usual spot. He doesn’t realize what’s going on until he sees the glint of Gavin’s gold chain, and he panics, bringing Lindsay off to the side.

 

“I need you to stay right here for a moment. Please, just trust me, okay?” Lindsay looks confused, but she nods, and Ray jogs onto onto his outcropping, waving Gavin down. Gavin is staring, wide eyed at Lindsay, and Ray is fidgeting, fingers tapping against his thigh. “I am so sorry, I came here without thinking, she hasn’t seen you yet, I’ll go to a different spot.”

 

“Will she tell?” Ray blinks in shock, and he sees Gavin’s eyes glittering as he stares at Lindsay waiting patiently in the distance. She’s wearing black shorts that compliment every curve, hugging her in all the right places, and a striped blue tank top. She’s wearing gaudy gold sunglasses, and maybe that’s why Gavin is staring so hard, but Ray is still confused as hell.

“You’re not… Mad?”

 

“If she doesn’t tell then I don’t mind. It will take time for the others to warm up to her, though. Bring her over.” Ray turns and waves for Lindsay to come over. She does so happily, and she gasps in awe when she sees Gavin.

 

“Is he..?” Lindsay reaches out and touches his hand lightly, grinning so wide that Gavin smiles automatically in response. “You look beautiful!”

 

“Thank you! You don’t look so bad yourself, love.” Ray gapes at the way that Gavin seems lovestruck, and he looks absolutely charmed as Lindsay takes her sandals off and sits down. Gavin is more than happy to rest his upper half next to Lindsay while Ray goes to get his inflatable tubes. Ray leaves his things in the cave a floats out, realizing once he’s out away from the rocks that he forgot the second tube. Ryan pops his head out of the water and looks at Ray, wondering where the tube is.

 

“I’m sorry, I completely forgot your tube.” Ryan seems to understand, nodding, and Ray smiles gingerly. He looks to see if anyone else is coming, and he wheezes as all of a sudden something heavy and wet is in his lap. He looks down to see Ryan curling up on top of him, and he doesn’t hesitate, rubbing Ryan’s back. “I brought my friend Lindsay here. She’s nice.”

 

Ryan hums softly, looking up at Ray. “Ray nice.” Ray beams in happiness and laughs when Ryan smushes his cheek against the tube.

 

“How are you today?” Ray knows that there isn’t really much Ryan will respond to, but he’s been doing better.

 

“Good. I wait for you.” Ray is so proud of how far that Ryan has come, and he has a sneaking suspicion that someone has been teaching him English.

 

“Oh yeah? Why you waiting big guy?” Ray is smiling at him fondly, and when he turns he sees that Michael has moved to investigate the new person. Gavin is flaring his fins and looking like a cat with cream, getting all the attention. He thinks that he sees Michael blushing, but he brushes it off as the sunlight. There’s no way that he’d be blushing.

 

“You small. I protect.” Ray laughs softly when Ryan looks up at him, and he sticks his tongue out at Ryan. Ryan grins and the two of them settle down, Ray closing his eyes and floating for a while before he feels something brush his toes. He looks up to see Jack staring stricken at Gavin and Michael. Ray looks and sees them talking to Lindsay, and when he looks at Jack her gaze is accusing.

 

“You’re supposed to keep the secret!” Jack hisses in annoyance, eyes narrowed. Beneath all of her bluster he can see that she’s scared and Ray opens his mouth to speak without a thought.

 

“Jack-”

 

“I called your human friend to bring you home, Geoff saves your life, and you think that you can just tell anyone about us?” Jack snarls, lip curling, and Ray reaches out, showing the dark, circular bruises. “I kept you from drowning in the tide, and you betray us?”

 

Jack only seems to be growing angrier, and Ray can understand that but he didn’t mean to. “I- I didn’t mean to bring her here b- but she- she’s the only person I know that’s better at keeping secrets than me.”

 

“Well it wasn’t enough, was it?” Jack bares her teeth at Ray and Ray shudders in fear.

 

Ray fears that Jack is going to drag him under, but Ryan lifts his head and sneers at Jack, Jack snarling. “Leave him alone.” Ray’s eyes widen at the completeness of the statement, and Ray ducks behind Ryan’s shoulder as Ryan moves to get in the way of Jack and him.

 

Jack starts clicking and grunting rapidly, face pinched in anger, and Ryan fires back, fast and sharp, and their noises reach a breaking point until Jack finally dives under the water, shooting away as Ryan snarls and flops down on Ray again. Ray makes a soft oof noise and gingerly pets his hair, tugging lightly on his ponytail. Ryan makes a couple of pleased clicks and seems to go back to his napping, Ray looking at Lindsay. She’s got Gavin in her lap fully and the two are laughing merrily, Michael hanging out nearby.

 

“Hey, do you think that Jack will calm down?” Ray is still petting Ryan, and Ryan seems to be more than happy to just sleep, but he peeks at Ray and shrugs.

 

“She careful. More guard than we.” Ray is a little unnerved by Ryan talking so much, but nonetheless he’s happy to hear Ryan’s voice.

 

“I don’t want her to be mad at me, but I have friends and I- I want to be with them too. All I do is come to the beach and I want to share this with them. They’re the most trustworthy people I know.”

 

Ryan is listening close, Ray can see that, and it take a few minutes, but Ryan slowly processes what Ray says. “Bring humans. She shelter too long. She will learn.”

 

Ray laughs softly at Ryan saying she’s sheltered, but he sobers up when he realizes he really doesn’t know anything. He has no right to laugh about her, so he just watches Ryan as he lounges. “Will you go get her? I want to speak with her.” Ryan looks at Ray carefully, contemplating something, and he slips from the tube and lingers, an oddly tender look on his face. Ray smiles at him and pats his cheek, Ryan leaning into the touch. “Go on silly, I won’t move.”

 

“Okay.” Ryan slips beneath the surface of the water, disappearing for what Ray determines to be about fifteen minutes. Jack comes up, her face tight, and Ray frowns.

 

“I’m sorry Jack. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but I’d like to know why you distrust us so much. Humans, I mean.”

 

“And why would I tell you?” Jack squints at Ray, and Ray gingerly pats his tube. A couple of tentacles gently take hold of Ray’s tube, and Jack quickly pulls herself up into Ray’s space, settling down. Unfortunately she has so many tentacles that she has to touch Ray, but she’s still angry and Ray understands that.

 

“You don’t have to I guess.”

 

Jack looks at Ray uncertainly, and after a moment she sighs, shoulders tense. Ray doesn’t know if him asking is such a good idea, but he thinks that knowing this will make a difference. “If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else.”

 

“Your story stays with me.” Ray promises, Jack looking at him again before relaxing marginally. One of her tentacles wraps around Ray’s arm a couple times, Ray more than happy to gently pet the appendage.

 

“I was young. My family, we don’t stay very close. We don’t travel in schools like the other mermaids tend to, and I was finally on my own. I was of the coast of japan, actually, even though I really shouldn’t have been. I wanted to go around the world at least once, save for where it was absolutely too cold.”

 

“How many places did you go to?” Ray interjects, Jack smiling softly.

 

“Any waterway I could get into I went to. I’ve been to the Red Sea, the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Great Lakes, and my latest was Japan. Anyhow.” Jack seems more than happy to answer Ray’s easier questions, but she sobers rather quickly as she goes back to telling her other story. “A group of fishermen had been poaching, trying to catch different, exotic octopus for these special dishes. At least, that’s what the other mermaids told me. They were hunting a couple of octopi that were in the area when they found me.

 

It was, it was horrible. They were relentless, tracking me day and night. I couldn’t rest, and even when I passed by India after a few days they were still going. The only time I got to rest was when they docked for a few hours. They kept after me for so long until finally Geoff he- he found me, got himself caught and threw them all overboard. I don’t know how he did it, but I didn’t hesitate to drag them under the water where they couldn’t do anymore harm. Geoff stayed around the vessel for a while just to make sure that it wasn’t going to hurt anyone, and gorge himself on the fish they’d already caught. I- I left after that, and Geoff kept me safe, brought me here and said I was welcome to stay.”

 

Ray listens carefully, and the story, being hunted relentlessly, Ray can’t imagine what that feels like. Ray looks at Jack, sees her watching LIndsay on the shore. “I’m sorry."

 

Jack shakes her head and looks at Ray stubbornly, jaw set. “It wasn’t your fault, and I shouldn’t take it out on you. Geoff kept telling me that, but what can I say? I’m stubborn.”

 

Ray laughs softly and smiles gingerly. “Protective, mainly. You want your family to be safe, and unknown factors, like me bringing other people around, isn’t safe. Though you are kind of stubborn.”

 

Jack relaxes, cracking a smile and resting on the tube while they float. “I know you don’t seek to harm us, so I’ll try to be as understanding and welcoming as possible, when they’re around. Just try to give me a warning next time?”

 

Ray nods and looks back at Lindsay to see that Gavin’s stolen her sun glasses, and is openly admiring himself in the reflection of the water while Michael swims closer and starts talking softly with Lindsay. “Yeah, I can do that.” He agrees.


End file.
